Electronics and electrics giant, Siemens Southern Africa, has merged its IT and e-business divisions to form a new Corporate Information & Operations Organisation (CIO), as part of its global drive to consolidate its information infrastructure, applications and IT-operations. The formation of the new CIO is also a strategic move by Siemens to generate increased value for its clients by optimising Siemens' business processes across the complete value-chain.
The CIO will act as a strategic business partner to Siemens' 14 business units, as well as corporate units, complementing their business strategies. They will therefore largely operate in a consulting environment, providing Siemens' business units and their clients and partners, with a team of professionals who have a clear understanding of business and are able to assist them in streamlining their business processes resulting in the optimisation of IT applications. This will allow Siemens to better interact with its clients, who will be the direct beneficiaries of a process aimed at increasing productivity and profitability on both sides.
"The key issue surrounding the formation of the CIO is to generate value and added benefits for our customers," says CIO head, Alf Franzoni. "The new optimised process will result in a better service to our customers. By improving Siemens processes we will help increase profitability, thereby enhancing our relationships and adding value to the business of our business units and that of their clients. We have better interaction with our customers and we enhance our value as a preferred supplier."
Siemens Southern Africa's CIO is already viewed as the best CIO organisation within Siemens globally, which incorporates 172 countries. Jeff Goutier, CIO Manager of E-Business, said the merger of the divisions made perfect sense in order to advance the service offered by the CIO organisation.
"Our core business is to provide information operations and solutions to business, our clients and our partners. Through the new CIO, we are able to show them how technology can create a competitive advantage, and how we can assist them in this regard."
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